Meet the 2021 Valedictorian and Salutatorian
The City College of New York announces the Valedictorian and Salutatorian, Matthew Romano and Shilpa Ann Shaju, for the 2021 Virtual Salute, on June 4. Romano is an honors student and English major in the Division of Humanities and the Arts with a minor in Education. Recounting his personal path to academic success, Romano describes his experiences as a person with autism overcoming society's stigmatization of neurodivergence. An aspiring educator, Romano is currently student teaching remotely at the Bronx High School of Science. Salutatorian Shaju is a double major in Political Science and International Studies with a minor in Legal Studies at CCNY's Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership. A Macaulay Honors College student en route to law school in San Francisco, Shaju links her career track with having learned at CCNY "that most clients in the American legal system feel voiceless and trapped in an unfamiliar process. I would like to pursue a legal education so that I can be a guide for specifically immigrants who feel this way in the legal system, and an advocate for changing the immigration process."
CCNY Announces Virtual Salute Honorees Alondra Nelson, an acclaimed researcher and author who explores questions of science, technology and social inequality, is the keynote speaker at the June 4 Virtual Salute that marks City College's 168th Commencement. Nelson will receive the honorary degree Doctor of Humane Letters. City College will also honor Edward Blank, ’57, one of its distinguished alumni and a telemarketing pioneer, with the honorary degree Doctor of Humane Letters. Both honorees will address the 2021 graduating class and their families virtually.
Research: Making Discoveries, Creating Change
Structural Racism Contributes to Psychosis Risk
Black and Latinx individuals suffer disproportionately from psychosis risk factors at the neighborhood and individual level, in large part as a result of structural racism, finds Associate Professor of Psychology Deirdre M. Anglin of CCNY's Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership. In a first-of-its-kind literature review, a team of social scientists led by Anglin examine U.S.-based evidence that connects characteristics of the social environment with outcomes across the psychosis continuum. Their article, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, calls for further research and greater effort within psychiatry to address structural racism and social determinants of psychosis in funding priorities, training and intervention development.
CCNY Trio Wins Salk Scholar Distinction
Graduating seniors from CCNY's Division of Science Miguel Chavez and Tzippora Chwat and 2020 alumnus Mathiu Perez are 2021 Jonas E. Salk Scholars, named for the CCNY '34 alumnus who created the first polio vaccine. The scholarships are given by CUNY to exceptional students who will be attending medical school or graduate programs in biomedical sciences.
Memorial Scholarship Honors Elyse L. Nass
A new CCNY scholarship fund has recently been established by the family of Elyse L. Nass (1947-2019). A native New Yorker, Nass was an award-winning playwright and an early champion of gender equality and the rights of the elderly. The annual fund in Nass' name will enable CCNY's MFA in Creative Writing program and Department of Theatre and Speech to offer generous scholarships, stipends and other resources to students pursuing careers in writing, especially playwriting. "We already have the experience of being able to turn on the television or sit in a theatre and say, 'Hey — that actor graduated from City College!' And in the near future, thanks to the Nass Scholarship, I look forward to also saying, 'And look — this was written by a graduate of City College!'" says Professor Rob Barron, chairperson of the Department of Theatre and Speech within CCNY's Division of Humanities and the Arts.
